Enterprise solutions use data objects to represent real world items and other information. For example, data objects can be used to store content including, but not limited to, text, images, graphics, video, and/or multimedia. A business object is a special type of data object that can be used to represent information related to a business including, but not limited to, folders, documents, bookmarks, materials, material lists, item lists, data sheets, presentations, and text documents.
Data objects can be used to support collaborations, competitions, or official tenders. For example, a public tender can be implemented using a public folder, in which each bidding party can have a reserved area with folders. Inside these folders, bidding parties can read tender documents for particular items, store their bids, and store additional data and communications between parties. Since the data objects are stored centrally, access rights to the data objects need to be managed. For example, it should be possible to prohibit certain users from accessing all data objects. That is, two bidding parties should not be able to access each others' bidding or communication objects.
Data objects also store metadata. Metadata is data that not directly related to object content. Metadata can include object attributes, such as object identifiers, object names, time stamps, access control attributes, object locations, times of object creation, creator names, object change times, identities of users making changes, and the like. Access control attributes may specify who has access to a particular data object.
In more detail, the access control attributes can specify the identity of a user, a group of users, and/or users having a particular role, who have access to data objects. The access control attributes can also include access right information. Access right information specifies an extent of access. For example, certain users may be permitted only to read a data object, whereas other users may be permitted both to read and to edit the data object.
Search engines may be used to search databases, including databases that contain data objects. One disadvantage of conventional search engines is that they do not take user access rights into account when returning search results.
Like reference numerals in different figures denote like elements.